This was the weakest article on bad sports mascots that I've seen in a long time. The picture led me to believe that a team had the monumentally bad name of the Blank High Fear, but instead, it was only the Sultans. And while the Vandals is a pretty bad name because of modern connotations, the writer didn't pay attention in history class or even bother to look it up on Wikipedia and discover why they had a Viking pictured. Admittedly, the criminals is a really bad mascot, and I'd change vandals to something else, but otherwise most of those mascots are perfectly fine. There are so many really bad mascots out there and this list of ten only has about two.

Florence Gophers 1949 all state champion basketball team!! The underdogs (gophers) won!! My wife's grandfather was inducted into the Arizona Hispanic Sports Hall of Fame a few years back for this. \U0001f604

emerald oz46, you need to check your facts, map, and your mouth before you comment and make yourself look stupid. here are the facts.

You need to check your facts. St John is the county seat of
Apache County. The Navajo Reservation,
the Fort Apache Reservation,
and the Zuni Reservation
are all located in Apache County. Apache County has more land set aside for
reservations than any other in the country. The 2110 Census say’s that 71,000
people live in Apache County. 72% or 51,120 of those are Native American. The
total square miles of the county is 7,666.96. Reservation land takes up 5240 sq
mi. or 68% of the land. So yes I do know what I am talking about. Check that. Have a nice day.

Dear Readers, It would have been a positive article had the "best" school names been listed. It is similar to seeing the "glass 1/2 full" instead of the "glass 1/2 empty." It is a point of view, and people prefer to see the world in a positive light.

And just who came up with this list? Perhaps that "journalist" should
do some research and find out WHY the Criminals are the Criminals. I'm
proud to be a Crim, "paroled" in 1967. The proud tradition of a school
that first held classes in a historic landmark continues. Earlier this
year, the Criminals were named a national finalist in USA Today's Best
Mascot Contest. It's interesting to find out that while our school's
historical mascot is respected NATIONALLY, it is trashed locally
by the New Times. Shame.

Proud 2nd generation Criminal!! Paroled in 1986! Quite honestly, we all know and respect the significant history behind the naming of our mascot. Funny that we made the BEST list in a NATIONAL poll, yet we top the worst list in your "poll". Eh, doesn't really matter. Our alumni and their accomplishments say it all. We are proud to have famous athletes, published authors, talented musicians, and leaders of all kinds be a part of our Criminal family. Thank you for the attention you bring to our school! Here's to thee our alma mater - YUMA HIGH ALL HAIL!!

You failed to mention all of the other Native American school mascot names....We at SJHS are proud to be Redskins. It is an honor to have this mascot!

We do not use it as demeaning or in a negative way. Our students our proud to wear the name on their uniforms! What's wrong with the rest of the mascots you mentioned? If you are not from the area, you don't understand the meaning behind some of the choices or the pride that the school has in them. Slow news day! No research! Hack job of an article!!!

You failed to mention all of the other Native American school mascot names....We at SJHS are proud to be Redskins. It is an honor to have this mascot!

We do not use it as demeaning or in a negative way. Our students our proud to wear the name on their uniforms! What's wrong with the rest of the mascots you mentioned? If you are not from the area, you don't understand the meaning behind some of the choices or the pride that the school has in them. Slow news day! No research! Hack job of an article!!!

You failed to mention all of the other Native American school mascot names....We at SJHS are proud to be Redskins. It is an honor to have this mascot!

We do not use it as demeaning or in a negative way. Our students our proud to wear the name on their uniforms! What's wrong with the rest of the mascots you mentioned? If you are not from the area, you don't understand the meaning behind some of the choices or the pride that the school has in them. Slow news day! No research! Hack job of an article!!!

You failed to mention all of the other Native American school mascot names....We at SJHS are proud to be Redskins. It is an honor to have this mascot!

We do not use it as demeaning or in a negative way. Our students our proud to wear the name on their uniforms! What's wrong with the rest of the mascots you mentioned? If you are not from the area, you don't understand the meaning behind some of the choices or the pride that the school has in them. Slow news day! No research! Hack job of an article!!!

You failed to mention all of the other Native American school mascot names....We at SJHS are proud to be Redskins. It is an honor to have this mascot!

We do not use it as demeaning or in a negative way. Our students our proud to wear the name on their uniforms! What's wrong with the rest of the mascots you mentioned? If you are not from the area, you don't understand the meaning behind some of the choices or the pride that the school has in them. Slow news day! No research! Hack job of an article!!!

You failed to mention all of the other Native American school mascot names....We at SJHS are proud to be Redskins. It is an honor to have this mascot!

We do not use it as demeaning or in a negative way. Our students our proud to wear the name on their uniforms! What's wrong with the rest of the mascots you mentioned? If you are not from the area, you don't understand the meaning behind some of the choices or the pride that the school has in them. Slow news day! No research! Hack job of an article!!!